Politics

On Thursday California lawmakers passed a bill to protect abortion providers as well as patients from civil suits and penalties in other states. The next step for what lawmakers are calling Assembly Bill 1666 is to have Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom, who supports abortion rights, sign the bill. It would take effect immediately with his signature.

The Supreme Court ruling, announced this morning, has officially overturned the 1973 Roe v. Wade case that has protected a woman’s right to an abortion for 50 years— now millions of women nationwide have lost their constitutional right to autonomy over their bodies, and will be forced to bring pregnancies to term, no matter the situation. While the implementation of Roe v. Wade will not affect every state, nearly half of the U.S. is likely to ban safe and legal abortions completely.

The U.S Travel Association has named a successor to take over from Roger Dow as Chief Executive. Geoff Freeman, who currently leads the Consumer Brands Association, will replace Dow as Chief Executive starting in September. Dow has led the group for nearly a decade, and announced his retirement last month.

The Uvalde Texas mass shooting at Robb Elementary School left many questions regarding why the shooter was not stopped sooner and why the school’s security was not stronger.

Following recent high-profile incidents of gun violence, negotiations concerning gun safety laws have been going on all across the United States. Congress is working to pass a bipartisan gun safety package, however, the “boyfriend loophole” is proving to be a considerable roadblock in finalizing the package.

Last week, President Biden signed an executive order to help protect transgender children and their access to healthcare. With many conservative state laws aiming to increase barriers for transgender children, Biden’s goal is to counteract their efforts with his new LGBTQI+ order.

Former mayor of Bogota and ex-rebel fighter, Gustavo Petro, became Colombia’s first left-wing president on Sunday June 19. Petro has promised profound social and economic change for the country, and is the first progressive to win the presidency in the country’s history.

Last year, June 19 became Juneteenth National Independence Day, a United States federal holiday. The legislation gained traction after the murders of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, and the bill passed the House 415-14, making it the 11th federal holiday.

Doctor Simone Gold, a former doctor from Beverly Hills, has been sentenced to jail for her role in the January 6th insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. Gold has been known for spreading misinformation and anti-vaccine rhetoric concerning Covid-19. She was sentenced to serve 60 days in prison for entering the Capitol building illegally.

The United States confirmed on Wednesday that it was aware of reports that a third U.S citizen is missing after traveling to Ukraine in March. The last time family and friends heard from the missing veteran, Grady Kurpasi, was in late April. Kurpasi had chosen to volunteer alongside the Ukrainians in Ukraine, but had never initially thought he himself would be fighting on the frontlines of the war, George Heath, a family friend of Kurpasi
told reporters.

Twitter’s user base truly is the most random amalgamations of people, from die-hard BTS stans to none other than Donald Trump. Following the election of Trump in 2016, he became known for his stream-of-consciousness type tweets and confusing posts such as “despite the constant negative press covfefe.” Twitter has quickly become a major political social media service in which anyone can share their thoughts, and potentially have them reach a widespread audience.

China has released a stern statement concerning President Biden’s warnings over Taiwan a few weeks ago. Wei Fenghe, China’s Defense Minister, warned that China would, “resolutely crush any attempt” made by the United States to interfere with China’s affairs in Taiwan.